


Our Town

by 30xf



Series: 201 Days Of X Files [48]
Category: The X-Files
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 20:00:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5511071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/30xf/pseuds/30xf





	Our Town

It was well past midnight before Scully finally looked up from her file, stretching her arms up over her head and yawning. Mulder had fallen asleep across the end of the bed, his glasses still on and a file laid on his chest. She took off her glasses and squeezed the bridge of her nose. She had intended to sleep at some point before their flight left later in the morning, but once she had come into Mulder's room to compile their case notes, she hadn't left. It most likely had to do with the coffee they'd had earlier, although it didn't seem to be affecting Mulder.

She hadn't let the medics at the crime scene check her out. Since waking up after being knocked out cold at Mrs. Kearns' house, she'd been awake and alert; no reason to believe her concussion was any danger to her. She did have a hell of a headache though, for which Mulder got her aspirin and a cold cloth for her head as they worked. Now, the aspirin was wearing off, and she didn't know if her headache was more from the hit on the head, tiredness, or from being strapped down to a block in that field. 

She watched Mulder sleeping peacefully for a moment, before carefully climbing out of bed. She took the bottle of aspirin from the table and went into the bathroom to get a drink of water. Just as she was heading back to the bed, Mulder awoke with a start, the file on his chest falling to the floor as he sat bolt upright. He first turned to where Scully had been sitting when he'd fallen asleep and, not finding her there, whipped his head around, sighing his relief when he saw her.

Scully froze briefly, keenly aware of the panic still running through her partner's body. His face was flushed and he was covered in a sheen of sweat. "You okay?" she asked, one eyebrow up.

He took off his glasses and threw them to the side, closing his eyes. He took a deep breath and sighed it out, flopping back down on the bed and covering his face with his hands.

She retrieved the file he had dropped and took up her former spot on his bed. After checking Mulder's forehead for fever, she leaned back against the pillows, her feet just inches from his head. Gathering all the files together, she waited for him to explain.

"Fucking nightmare," was all he said at first. His eyes opened and he stared at the ceiling. Scully could tell he was trying to clear the images from his head. Either replacing them with the blank canvas of ceiling, or possibly with a standard mental image he regularly used. When she was a kid, she used her mother's face. When she got older, the family dog. Now, she tended to use whatever was around her. Mulder closed his eyes again as he explained, "I heard the ax drop, and there was a sound...I'd never heard it before, but I recognized it anyways. And as I looked into your eyes..." He trailed off, seeing everything happening again. "Your head just dropped," he finished, though she could have imagined that for herself.

Eyes opening once again, Mulder finally looked at her. She was nodding, not looking altogether comfortable with the subject matter at hand. "Just a dream," she assured them both quietly.

He nodded along with her. "How's your head? Have you slept at all?"

"Still attached, but sore. And no," she answered, picking up the file he'd dropped and rearranging the papers in it.

"Did you take more aspirin?"

"Yep, just did a minute ago."

"Do you want to keep working, or do you want to get something to eat? I'm kind of hungry," he suggested.

She thought a moment, then ventured, "You want to get some chicken?"

He frowned at her in near horror.

Scully laughed, but it wasn't totally genuine. She pushed at his rib cage with her foot. "I'm just kidding."

"Really funny, Scully," he shook his head, getting up. "Do you want to eat? Are you gonna sleep on the plane?"

She thought about it for a moment. "Maybe I should sleep now. I don't want to disturb everyone on the plane when I have my nightmares." She had intended it as a joke, but realized it was serious halfway through.

"You sleep then. I can wait a bit to eat."

"Okay," she said, starting to get off the bed.

"You can stay there," he told her, moving the files to the table. Scully paused for a moment, not sure if she should stay or go. "I'm just gonna watch some TV, and you've already got a warm spot there," he reasoned. He didn't add that this way, he'd be there when she woke up from her nightmare, but she read between the lines.

She nodded, placing her glasses on his bedside table. She got under the covers and curled up, eyes already closed. As she drifted off, she felt his weight on the other side of the bed and heard the TV come on. "Wake me an hour before we have to leave?"

"I will," he assured her. And she slept.


End file.
